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When Detective Sofia Milena finally tracks down those responsible for the grisly murders that have been taking place in her jurisdiction, she is forced to reexamine her position on good and evil; among other things.

When a string of gruesome murders break out all over downtown Atlanta, the case falls on the desk of the most promising new detective on the force, Sofia Milena. Along with her strong-armed partner, Eric Bishop, they attempt to locate the men responsible. Thwarted at every turn by the twisted minds behind the crimes, Sofia allows her attention to be stolen away by the overwhelming charm of medical examiner and colleague, Lucian Grey. As a break in the case brings Sofia in contact with those responsible, she is forced to reconsider everything she believes about good and evil; as well as some things she believed to be myth.

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Top customer reviews

When I started reading this novel some eighteen hours ago, I didn't imagine for one minute that I'd be writing my review quite so soon. I'm at a bit of a loss as to what exactly to say, except...

Wow, I really was not expecting that!

This novel starts off as a crime thriller featuring Detective Sofia, her partner, Bishop, and medical examiner Lucian. Their latest case involves the murder of known criminals, followed by strange mutilation of their corpses. It seems a serial killer is on the loose and needs to be brought to justice.With no leads in sight and a partner unwilling to hunt down the person(s) responsible for taking these criminals off the streets, Sophia takes to spending more time in the morgue with the attractive Lucian.

As this story grew and grew with each hour that passed, I grew less and less able to put it down. I doubt I could even tell you what the weather was like today, I was that engrossed! What the author has managed to do here is combine aspects of all my favourite book genres and stir things up a bit; finishing up with a spellbinding novel that encompasses crime, thriller, paranormal, horror and romance in a brilliantly breathtaking way.

I could probably gush on and on, listing everything that is right about this novel, but I won't. Buy it and read it, you will not be disappointed!

Sincere thanks to author James R. Landrum for sending me a review copy of this masterpiece. Hurry up and write the next Dunamy instalment!

Rise of the Dunamy by James R. Landrum puts a distinctive spin on a tale of right & wrong and the morality (or immorality) of vigilante justice. It begins like many crime novels. There is a murder – yet another in a string of murders in downtown Atlanta, and the fourth crime scene in the last week. Detectives are summoned to investigate. Sofia Milena and her senior partner, Eric Bishop, respond to the call.

Sofia has been in homicide for nearly two years. She joined the Atlanta police force after early graduation from college with a degree in criminal justice. Offered a high level office position, Sofia opted for a street beat so she could learn the ropes from the ground up. She is principled, and sees the world as black and white, good and evil, right and wrong.

Bishop is a twenty year veteran of the APD. He joined the force right out of high school. He is part of the “old guard”, a third generation cop who sees the world as gray, malleable, fluid.

The case is cleverly referred to as “the cul-de-sac case” because each crime scene “led the case in circles and sent them away the same way they arrived, clueless and empty-handed.” There are no real clues, and no known witnesses.

The medical examiner, Dr. Lucian Gray, is also called to the scene. Lucian is a guy well-liked by all, especially Sofia. Lucian openly flirts with Sofia, while she prefers to be professional in public, flirting with Lucian in private.

When the case temporarily stalls, Sofia asks for Lucian’s guidance. Instead of help, he offers to take her mind off the case by taking her out. As their relationship blossoms, the case unfolds as well.

Rise of the Dunamy is like a pot of gumbo – it has a little bit of everything in it, and it is all good. It is a crime novel with a pinch or two of gut-wrenching horror. It is an urban fantasy with a dash of whodunit. It has a whiff of paranormal flair. And, it is spiced up with a little romance. Getting all of these ingredients to blend together is no easy feat. Just one, in the wrong amount, can overpower the whole dish. But, Landrum, like an experienced sous chef, manages to combine them well and the result is an amazing, creative, unique “meal”.

No, the story doesn’t adhere to the ‘rules’ of the genres from which it samples; but, that’s what makes it so unpredictable, so good. It is part urban fantasy, after all; and as such, the author ultimately decides the rules of the world he creates; he decides what is important, necessary, relevant.

I truly enjoyed Rise of the Dunamy, and I recommend it to all for its originality, its variety, and its humor. Rules are meant to be broken, and Landrum breaks them well. I look forward to the next book in the series. 4 ½ stars

Most helpful customer reviews on Amazon.com

Amazon.com:
3.4 out of 5 stars
141 reviews

31 people found this helpful.

5.0 out of 5 starsWWYD?

ByWilliam A Joneson 6 February 2014 - Published on Amazon.com

Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

I will start by saying that I do not want to give anything away. I don't want to spoil this book and the journey I was just on reading it for anyone else. If I say too much, the trip will be ruined. I am an avid reader whose favorite authors range from James Patterson to Stephen King."Rise of the Dunamy" took me on an emotional roller coaster ride and made me consider "what would you do?" if this happened in real life. I faced the same moral debate that the lead character, Sofia, faces in the book. What side of the fence would I be on? I became vested in each of the characters and their backstory and how they became who they are and what drives them...including the Dunamy.I started this book and couldn't put it down. A great read.

I wanted to like this, the gray area between good and evil has lots of room to explore, and the idea of beings with super human qualities that are not supernatural has potential.But this book desperately needs an editor to address problems with flow, point of view and rambling.The story barely gets started with a strong action scene when it goes into a long, involved back story about the main character. The first half of the book is more exposition - back story and thoughts about what's happening - than current action, and these are too long and break up the flow of the story.The jumps in point of view are distracting. The book is mostly focused on one character and mostly told in the second person showing her point of view. But it occasionally jumps to an omniscient point of view telling us what other characters think (mostly a totally unnecessary exposition on how sexy every man finds her) and then a couple of times jumps to the character's first-person point of view.But the biggest problem is that so much is told in a stream of thought style that covers every tiny action and thought of the main character in tiresome, and sometimes confusing, detail. One example:"Sofia slept through her alarm even though it beeped incessantly for an hour before automatically shutting off. It had begun going off shortly after she had fallen asleep but she somehow managed to go into such a deep sleep immediately, the sound never affected her. It wasn't a problem that she didn't get up because she didn't have to be in to work that day, but it was very uncharacteristic of her to not wake up at the smallest sound.She was exhausted from the night's events and barely had the strength to climb into the shower for a very quick, but very thorough rinse; after which she collapsed into her bed, a towel around her hair to keep from soaking her pillow. Sofia slept as if she had not done so for a week, and didn't wake up until late in the evening."That's one paragraph. Not only could it have been said in a third as many words, it jumbles up timing so you're not really sure what came first, the alarm or the shower.Toward the end the pace picks up, but I only got there with a lot of patience and a lot of eye rolling at Sofia's rambling thoughts.I hope in future the author works with an editor to tighten things up and improve the pace. There's potential here, but it's buried under too many words at the wrong time.

This book, bought from Amazon, is my nephew by marriage's FIRST BOOK! :-) And if I didn't know him, I would STILL think it's a WONDERFULLY written book that keeps you wanting to read until you find out what happens next! The characters are likable and seem REAL...I truly love this book. I haven't finished it yet, but I'm getting there. I'm a slow reader. It's certainly NOT that the book isn't extremely interesting.And thank you to Amazon for getting it here on time! :-)

2.0 out of 5 starsNot my cup of tea-without the sexuality & gore it would make a better YA novel

Bythisisjoeyon 16 May 2014 - Published on Amazon.com

Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

While I admire Mr. Landrum for having a dream and pursuing it, I wish he had either gotten an editor or at least a better editor. The premise of the book had promise. I hate to say this but that is pretty much where it ends. What bothered me? Many grammatical errors. The tone of voice was very immature, as an example "She kept her personal life very personal." "...she wanted to date Lucian really badly." Repetitive use of words and phrases (usually in an incorrect form.) I thought if I read the word CHEMICALS one more time I would scream. Misspelled words and punctuation errors. And then there would be the combination of several mistakes or conflicts in one sentence: "My muscle tissue can rebuild, like, really quick. So, when I star tearin' muscle, I get ripped quick." And that is a direct quote from the book. Sorry, unless the writing is cleaned up in future books I won't be reading anything further in the series.

I sort of enjoyed the book. I started out being drawn to some of the characters and looking forward to how they developed and their interactions with one another played out. As the tension rose in the story, I found myself dreading what I thought was going to happen because it is not something I usually read. As it turns out, my anticipated dread did occur and it left me uneasy. I finished the book and had to really think about how I would rate it. The story is written well enough to keep your attention. The characters, especially Sofia, Bishop, and Lucien, are interesting. Basically, I concluded that this book was just not one I would have selected to read had I known more about the plot.

But having said that, those who are interested in an interesting read that delves into human variations like you see with the current interest in vampire stories would like enjoy this book.